Gong Qingyun was unable to share his joy with his sister right away because at that very moment, Gong Qingshui had already set out again.
Just two days prior, Old Master Gong received word that a Supreme Snow Lotus had appeared halfway up Yunshan Mountain—a spiritual herb coveted even by those flying Immortal Cultivators!
If they could harvest a Supreme Snow Lotus, they could either have Gong Qingyun consume it or present it when the Immortal Cultivators descended to the mortal realm to recruit disciples, either of which could potentially allow Gong Qingyun to enter the Immortal Cultivation World.
Consequently, Old Master Gong summoned Gong Qingshui and instructed her to scout out the whereabouts of the Snow Lotus. If there was an opportunity to seize it, she should do so; if not, but she obtained definitive information, she was to send word back so that Old Master Gong could make a move himself.
Although Old Master Gong was a Xiantian Expert, he was advanced in years. While daily maintenance posed no problem, his body could not withstand being out on the road for extended periods.
Therefore, such tasks were mostly delegated to Gong Qingshui.
This morning, after observing her younger brother practice his stance for a while and realizing he was only a couple of days away from grasping his Qi and Blood, Gong Qingshui shouldered her pack without a backward glance and stepped into the biting chill and pitch-black path of the early dawn.
It was only when Chen Yi went to share his good news with Zhuiyue that he learned of the eldest miss's departure.
Upon hearing that the young master had mastered the basics of the Stance Skill, Zhuiyue was overjoyed.
"That's wonderful! If the young miss knew, she would definitely be thrilled! Brother Yi, you've rendered great service by accompanying the young master in his martial arts training during this time; I will report this to the eldest miss."
"Thank you, Miss Zhuiyue."
That was precisely Chen Yi's objective.
"By the way, Miss Zhuiyue, I heard that the Bone-Strengthening Broth costs one tael of silver per bowl when sold separately. I wanted to ask, can just anyone buy it?"
Chen Yi casually inquired.
"Of course not," Zhuiyue replied with a hint of pride. "Only martial arts apprentices who have officially mastered the basic Stance Skill are qualified to buy it. Of course, I can buy it too."
"You are a martial arts apprentice?"
"Hmph, I belong to the eldest miss; do I need to be a martial arts apprentice? Who in this Gong Family Estate doesn't give me some face? What, do you want to buy some?" Zhuiyue countered.
"If it's not too much trouble, could I trouble Miss Zhuiyue to help me buy a bowl?"
"Well... normally, as a servant, you aren't allowed to drink the Bone-Strengthening Broth. However, having me buy a bowl for you is no big deal. But you must remember the eldest miss's kindness. You need to know that it is entirely for the eldest miss's sake that you get to drink this bowl of broth at all."Zhuiyue remembered the eldest miss's parting instructions: to make this little servant beg her to take him in one day, it was only right to appropriately display the eldest miss's influence. Her eyes rolled, and she gave this reply.
Chen Yi felt helpless inwardly. The eldest miss was completely set on recruiting him and had even made arrangements beforehand.
Under the current circumstances...
Well, the medicinal soup had to be drunk, and the eldest miss's kindness could be remembered, but as for actually hanging out with the eldest miss outside, forget it. The outside world was too dangerous; he had to steadily build up his strength first.
"I certainly remember the eldest miss's kindness and will never forget it. I also thank you, Miss Zhuiyue."
Chen Yi smiled as he handed over a small piece of broken silver. Zhuiyue let out an "ah" sound, lifted her chin, and accepted it.
Then, Chen Yi proactively went with Zhuiyue to buy a bowl of Bone-Strengthening Broth.
His excuse was that he shouldn't trouble Miss Zhuiyue to walk him all the way back,
but in reality, he wanted to get familiar with the senior brother selling the medicinal soup. Since he had already invoked the eldest miss's banner, he might as well use whatever convenience came with it. At worst, he could just express his gratitude to the eldest miss a few more times in his heart.
The effect was practically the same. The person in charge of the Bone-Strengthening Broth was a senior medical disciple of Old Master Gong named Wu Li. He was five feet tall and on the chubby side.
He recognized Zhuiyue.
After Zhuiyue explained that the Bone-Strengthening Broth was for Chen Yi, Wu Li cast two glances at Chen Yi.
"I heard Xiao Jiu mention you. You're literate, sensible, and can endure hardship, but it's a pity your physique is a bit weak.
Since you have the eldest miss's favor, I'll ladle you a bowl of the thick soup from the bottom. You must seize this opportunity
and strive to achieve Force-Entering early to help share the eldest miss's burdens."
Chen Yi smiled as he took the soup and expressed his thanks, but made no commitments about helping share any burdens.
After returning, he drank the thick Bone-Strengthening Broth and persisted in practicing his Fist Stance for over half an hour.
As Chen Yi continued his daily Stance Skill practice, the amount of time he could hold it each day grew longer and longer, and he was not far from mastering the basics.
Although his progress couldn't compare to Gong Qingyun's instant grasp of Qi and Blood fueled by powerful medicines, being able to see improvement every day kept Chen Yi's mindset very steady.
The next morning, because Gong Qingyun had already mastered the basics of the Stance Skill, Li An began teaching him the official Gong family boxing technique—Nine Palaces Fist.Because Chen Yi's progress was still far behind and he had not yet formally taken a master, he could not yet learn the orthodox Nine Palaces Fist. Bearing in mind the instructions of his master, Old Master Gong, that Chen Yi only needed to be taught some simple things, Li An taught Chen Yi a simple health-preserving boxing method—the Gong Family Five-Animal Longevity Exercise.
"This exercise is gentle and does not harm the body. It is good for health preservation and harmonizing Qi and Blood, making it suitable for someone like you with a weak foundation and insufficient Qi and Blood. Legend has it that mastering it can generate Internal Power, and if the Internal Power becomes powerful enough to advance to True Qi, it won't fall far behind external martial arts fist techniques. Well, for an ordinary person, there is a chance of producing Internal Power within fifty years."
Thus spoke Li An while teaching Chen Yi the boxing method.
Chen Yi listened attentively with a smile. Without seeing the expected dissatisfaction with this health-preserving exercise from Chen Yi, Li An frowned slightly, but still spoke the words entrusted to him by the eldest miss:
"Of course, if you want to learn the Gong Family's orthodox lethal boxing—the Nine Palaces Fist—after a year or a half, if you can control your Qi and Blood, you may go and ask the eldest miss. If she agrees to let you become her apprentice, you may continue learning."
Chen Yi smiled again and expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, Senior Brother Li. The longevity exercise is already very good; my constitution is only suited for health preservation anyway."
Chen Yi was not feigning composure; he genuinely did not dislike the Five-Animal Longevity Exercise. Having been in the Gong Estate for so long, Chen Yi had inquired about the family's origins. Legend had it that an ancestor of the Gong family was farming one day when he saved a high-level master who had fallen from above, and was rewarded by the master with a volume of medical texts. The first half of that medical text was the source of the Gong Family Treatise on Typhoid, while the second half recorded a longevity exercise—which was precisely this Five-Animal Longevity Exercise.
An ancestor of the Gong family had once left a note: do not underestimate this longevity exercise. It could improve a person's physical foundation and constitution, prolonging life when practiced to a small success, and potentially generating Internal Power when practiced to a great success, yielding many miraculous effects. Anyone with a special affinity might even use it to change their destiny.
However, because later generations of the Gong family entered the martial arts world to make a living, and this longevity exercise was far inferior in lethality to external martial arts fists, the family's martial arts tradition gradually abandoned the exercise. Only a few disciples studying medicine still practiced it, but the results were usually mediocre. To this day, no one had been heard of practicing it to a small success or generating Internal Power, though several people across generations who practiced this exercise had lived to be ninety years old.
[Five-Animal Longevity Exercise (1/4000): Persist daily, four thousand repetitions bring success.]
The longevity exercise consisted of only eighteen movements, and learning it had very low requirements for Qi and Blood. Chen Yi learned it on the first try. Yet he had never expected that practicing this longevity exercise to success would actually require twice as many repetitions as the Fist Stance! Though it seemed simple, there must be some profound mystery hidden within. However, since very few people could even practice the Fist Stance to perfection, the difficulty of this longevity exercise was twice that of the Fist Stance, making it naturally impossible for anyone to succeed.
Yet, this kind of exercise suited Chen Yi perfectly.
The Fist Stance was used to cultivate Qi and Blood and increase physical strength, serving as the foundation for practicing the external martial arts fist, the Nine Palaces Fist. Although external martial arts practitioners possessed formidable lethality, they also harmed themselves. Especially when their Qi and Blood reached a certain intensity, it placed a tremendous burden on the internal organs, bone marrow, and muscles; striking others inevitably meant injuring oneself. Therefore, practitioners of external martial arts generally did not live long, usually dying of visceral failure by the age of fifty.
Those who managed to reach the level of a Xiantian Expert were either individuals with immensely strong martial arts talent who broke through during their prime relying on a flourishing state of Qi and Blood; or those exceptionally skilled in health preservation who expanded their body's tolerance and ground their way through age; or those who spent decades or even a century practicing internal martial arts, reaching the peak through Internal Power and thereby stepping into the Xiantian realm.
Each of these methods had its own pros and cons. Theoretically, the best approach was the dual cultivation of internal and external—simultaneously strengthening the internal organs while elevating Qi and Blood. With both forces combining in a spiral upward ascent, one could reach the Xiantian realm directly. But this approach was exceedingly difficult. External martial arts Qi and Blood might possibly be pushed up in a short time by relying on rare heavenly treasures for heavy supplementation and the practice of powerful techniques. Internal Power, however, was a matter of sheer talent and time. Most people could not even enter the threshold in ten years, hear any echo in thirty years, and might perhaps gain some results in fifty or sixty years. Yet how could an ordinary person persevere for so long?
Chen Yi was different. At fifteen years of age, he possessed the foundational techniques for internal longevity cultivation and external Qi and Blood generation. All he needed was to persevere.
As for the currently lacking external striking techniques, Chen Yi was in no rush. He would lay a solid foundation first and talk about the rest later.